BOX SCORE
BEMIDJI, Minn. – No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State concluded the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a convincing 25-14, 25-14, 25-21 sweep over Bemidji State University on Saturday. The Mustangs finish the regular season 23-6 overall, including a third-place finish at 17-3 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, marking the eighth consecutive season that SMSU has finished fourth or higher in the final league standings.
SMSU, ranked seventh in the NCAA Central Region rankings, will learn if it qualified for the Central Region Tournament on the NCAA Selection Show Sunday night at 9 p.m.
Brooke Burmiester led SMSU with 17 kills while committing only two errors in the match for a .455 attack percentage on the match.
Mary Groth and
Alyssa Taylor both added double-digits in kills for SMSU. Groth finished with 11 and Taylor added 10.
The Mustangs finished the match with a .310 attack percentage while holding the Beavers to a .156 attack percentage. SMSU finished with six team blocks led by Taylor who picked up one solo and four block assists.
Southwest Minnesota State started the first set out strong. With the set tied at 3-3, the Mustangs were able to grab 14 of the next 17 points and a 17-6 lead. Burmeister and Groth paced the Mustangs in the first set. The two combined for 10 of SMSU's 14 kills in the set.
The Mustangs continued to roll in the second set jumping out to a 19-8 lead. Burmeister and Taylor each had four kills in the second set as the Mustangs hit .379 in the set.
Bemidji State fought hard in the third set putting together a late four-point run to take a 21-20 lead over the Mustangs. SMSU closed out the set and the match with its own five-point run.
Rachel Westby ended the match with two consecutive service aces to give SMSU a 25-21 third set victory. She finished the match with four service aces, six digs and five kills.
Brittany Wenzel led the Mustangs defensively finishing with 20 digs. Carson was the only other Mustang with double-digits in digs finishing with 10.
Southwest Minnesota State will learn its fate on Sunday night with the NCAA tournament on Sunday night. The 2011 NCAA Tournament field will be revealed at 9 p.m. on Sunday night during the NCAA Selection show. Log on to www.smsumustangs.com for further information on the NCAA Tournament.
